Heart-Lung Transplantation

I. Introduction Since the first successful human heart-lung transplant (HLT) was carried out at Stanford University Medical Center in 1981 (1), the International Society of Heart of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) reports that more than 3300 (2) of these procedures have been performed worldwide. The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (UNOS) report that approximately 1000 HLTs transplants were performed between 1988 and 2008 in the United States. A total of 178 HLTs were carried out at Stanford University Medical Center during the same time period. Although the frequency of HLT has decreased in recent years, a subset of patients with end-stage cardiopulmonary disease remains, which benefit immensely from this procedure. The current practices at Stanford University Medical Center pertaining to HLT follow.